Our Management Team

Wayne McLeod earned his pilot’s license in 1989 and started flying in Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba on float/wheeled planes, and he joined Keewatin Air in 1996. He began flying on the King Air at the Rankin Inlet base (where he also lived for 2 years) before advancing to the LearJet program performing International Air Ambulance missions.

Wayne left Keewatin Air in the spring of 1998 to become the Training and Standards Officer for the Manitoba Government Air Services branch, which included being a Captain on the CL-215 water bomber and Captain on the Citation jet for the Manitoba Air Ambulance Program. He returned to Keewatin Air in 2002 to assume the role of Chief Pilot.

Living in the Arctic gave Wayne a clear understanding of the challenges of operating in the Arctic on a 24/7 basis, and his experience in standards and training ensured the professionalism of our flight operations department. With over 10,000 hours of flying experience (the majority of it as northern flying and on medevacs) under his belt, and countless opportunities to prove his leadership and decision-making skills, he was ready to take on the next challenge. In 2005, Keewatin Air LP was purchased by Exchange Industrial Income Fund, now Exchange Income Corporation (EIC), and in February 2006, Wayne assumed the role of President of Keewatin Air.

Today, his ongoing hands-on involvement in the operation gives him a clear view of the day-to-day issues, as well as the long term direction that needs to be taken. In particular, his knowledge of the Northern and Winnipeg based air medical program has helped him lead the company into long term relationships with our clients. His focus on standards and his strong understanding and background of the air medical mission is critical to our ability to offer safe quality air medical services with sensitivity and professionalism.

Wayne is also the current President of NATA (Northern Air Transport Association), and sits as a director on MAHRC (Manitoba Aerospace and Human Resource Council).

Gurdeep Jassal earned his Diploma in Business Administration from Red River College in June of 2010 with a Major in Accounting. He became a part of the Aviation industry soon thereafter and has had the unique opportunity to work with the companies that are within the EIC umbrella until present date.

Gurdeep has a diversified experience in the Aviation subsidiaries, from scheduled passenger and cargo services of Calm Air, to the medevac operations of Keewatin Air. Living in Northern Manitoba had provided the opportunity of being close to the Leadership team of Calm Air and then progressed to the Sister companies with the move of Finance Head Office in 2016.

Today, his involvement in being the primary financial advisor to Keewatin’s Executive Management Team gives him a clear view of the day-to-day operations, as well as the long term goals to better serve the organization. In particular, he continues to identify opportunities for continuous process improvements throughout the organization and work closely with various department heads for implementation. His focus on disciplined and practical approaches to problem-solving and his strong understanding and background of the Aviation sector is what serves as his foundation to work for a safe and well-managed company that he’s currently a part of.

John Kliewer joined Keewatin Air in 2018. He provides senior leadership, strategy, operational continuous improvement, and organization development/excellence expertise to the management and staff of Keewatin Air. He also provides general human resources consultation and advice to the organization as appropriate.

In 1988 during his second year of studies at the University of Manitoba, John was accepted as an Officer Candidate in the Royal Canadian Air Force Reserves. In 1989, after graduating at the top of his class from the Canadian Forces Officer Development School, he received his Commission as a Second-Lieutenant. Over the next 14 years John completed over 3,000 missions as a Pilot, Flight Instructor, and Flying Standards Officer. As well, John was appointed to several command positions with respect to flight operations and training in Manitoba and Alberta. John also completed the Flight Safety/Accident Investigator Course with the RCAF Directorate of Flight Safety (DFS). Towards the later part of his service, John was attached to Air Command HQ in Winnipeg to support Provincial Operations in the Province of Manitoba. In 2006, John retired from the RCAF Reserves at the Rank of Captain, after having been awarded the Canadian Decoration (CD) Medal in 2004 for Long Service to the Canadian Armed Forces with exemplary conduct.

While serving in the military, John simultaneously completed his Science Degree at the University of Manitoba in 1990. Then in 1996, he began a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of Winnipeg. John went on to complete an advanced Certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of Manitoba from 2003 to 2005.

Being a ‘part-time’ military pilot allowed John to work in the private sector in the areas of organization/personnel development, and operations excellence. He held leadership and organization development positions in organizations ranging in size from 100 to over 1,000 employees. In 2011, John joined Manitoba Aerospace Inc., an organization supporting workforce, business/organization, and research/innovation development for the Province of Manitoba’s large aerospace and defence industries. In this position, John supported the CEOs, CFOs, and COOs of over 30 organizations in Manitoba, as well as organizations in Western Canada, and the UK. His support assisted these organizations to develop and implement world class management systems and methodologies, enhancing the ability of these organizations to be able to succeed in the very competitive aerospace and defence industries globally.

John has been a member of the association of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Manitoba since 1997. He received the designation of: Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) in 2008. John currently volunteers with CPHR Manitoba as a member of the CPHR Awards of Excellence Judges Committee, which recognizes business and personnel innovation and excellence annually within the Province of Manitoba.

Jason Kendall joined Keewatin Air in 2010 as an AME and became the DOM/PRM in January of 2013 after successfully passing the Transport Canada interview.

Jason started his career in 2000 working in the rotary wing field throughout Manitoba and Nunavut. Jason graduated from Stevenson Aviation in Southport, MB in 2004 and in 2005 moved into the fixed wing field where he has enjoyed the challenges and gratification of working in the air ambulance division.

Jason has over 15 years of experience as an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) with substantial experience in remote operations. His experience maintaining aircraft in remote areas has given him exceptional skills with contingency planning and scheduling of maintenance events to optimize reliability facing the challenges of maintaining aircraft in remote areas, with long distance support.

Over the years he has gained experience maintaining fixed wing aircraft Twin Otters, Pilatus PC12, King Airs and Learjets. Jason maintains maintenance control over Keewatin Air’s 4 bases and is responsible for 27 employees; 6 apprentices, 15 AME’s (including 4 Production Managers), 2 parts personnel, 3 within the Q.A department and 1 Maintenance Manager.

Heather McGonigal joined Keewatin Air’s management team in August 2017 in the capacity of Director of Flight Operations. She is responsible for overall safety, maintaining control of operations, and for setting and maintaining operational standards for flight crews and all aircraft operated.

Heather is a third generation pilot. She built a significant amount of her early flight time as a flight instructor while she attended university, graduating from the University of Saskatchewan in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. At this time, she moved to Calgary for full-time employment and taught Initial and Multi-IFR at Morgan Air. Later, she became Morgan Air's Chief Flying Instructor while still flying charters.

Prior to joining Keewatin Air, Heather worked at Transwest Air and Northern Shield Helicopters in Saskatchewan as the Director of Flight Operations, overseeing CAR 702-705 operations respectively. In addition to her Director of Flight Operations role, Heather was a line Captain and Training Captain. She implemented the company’s Safety Management System (SMS) and assisted in its oversight.

Heather’s experience in northern Saskatchewan gave her an appreciation for the challenges that people living in the north encounter on a daily basis. Her knowledge of multiple subparts of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) reinforced the importance of effective documentation from a customer and regulatory standpoint.

Heather has a passion for teaching and as a result has voluntarily instructed at local community colleges for the Commercial Pilot Program as well as being a First Aid Instructor for the Red Cross.

She is currently the Chair of the Board for the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC).